Coniferous forest name. coniferous forests

Coniferous forest is a natural area consisting of evergreens. Their unpretentiousness, lack of fear of excess moisture and large temperature changes, as well as the need for natural light, determined the habitat and unique features.

The coniferous forests of Russia make up 2/3 of the total forest area of ​​the country. In this regard, Russia is a world leader. From world heritage coniferous forests, the Russian part is more than half.

All coniferous forests in Russia are taiga, which extends mainly in the northern part of the country, occupies its European zone, the territory of Western and Eastern Siberia, as well as the Far East.

coniferous forest zone

There are three subzones of the taiga, each of which is characterized by its own special vegetation:

• Northern.
• Medium;
• South;

(northern taiga)

The northern subzone of the taiga is dominated by spruce forests and stunted vegetation. From the side of the tundra, they are sparse, but gradually thicken towards the south.

(Pine forest of the Urals)

The coniferous forests of the Urals are characterized by pine forests, the Far Eastern region of Siberia is represented mainly by larch

(Southern taiga forest)

The southern taiga boasts a wide variety of vegetation. Fir, spruce, cedar and larch grow here.

Forests in Russia are found formed by only one type of tree or are mixed forest stands. Depending on the composition of the coniferous forest, it is also divided into light coniferous (pine and Siberian larch), as well as dark coniferous forests. The latter are fir, cedar and spruce.

(Typical coniferous forest)

In coniferous forests, trees tend to be tall with straight trunks and large, dense crowns. Some of them, such as pines, can reach a height of 40 meters. Such conditions do not allow the formation of a diverse undergrowth. It is represented mainly by moss, low bushes of berries and club mosses. New, young trees that also need light cannot always break through, and therefore grow more often on the outskirts of the forest and edges.

The climate of coniferous forests

In the coniferous forests of Russia, the climate is special, it is characterized by warm and sometimes hot summers and frosty, harsh winter. The maximum temperatures reach 45 degrees with a plus and minus sign, respectively. This climate suits conifers, which are undemanding to such temperature drops. For them, the main thing is the sufficient availability of natural light.

Another feature of the climate Russian taiga - high humidity. Precipitation here exceeds the actual volume of evaporation. Not infrequently, especially in Siberia, there are large areas of wetlands. This is partly due to the close approach of groundwater.

Human economic activity

The territory of the taiga is represented by timber, the volume of which exceeds 5.5 billion cubic meters.

Such resources, as well as the presence of oil, gas and coal reserves in the subsoil of the regions, determined the main types of economic activity in taiga:

• extraction of oil, gas and minerals;
• logging;
• timber processing.

For example, pine wood is used to make building materials, furniture, it is valued as a fuel, cellophane, rayon and, of course, paper are also produced from it.

Spruce and fir also act as a material for construction. Paper, artificial viscose, etc. are made from their wood. An interesting feature of spruce is resonant wood, which is used to make musical instruments.

Coniferous forests are natural area, which consists of evergreens - coniferous trees. Coniferous forests grow in the taiga of Northern Europe, Russia and North America. In the highlands of Australia and South America in some places there are coniferous forests. The climate of coniferous forests is very cold and humid.

According to international classification There are the following types of coniferous forest:

• evergreen;
• with falling needles;
• present in swamp forests;
• tropical and subtropical.

According to the density of the canopy, light coniferous and dark coniferous forests are distinguished.

There is such a thing as artificial coniferous forests. In the territory of mixed or deciduous forests coniferous trees were planted in North America and Europe to restore forest where it had been heavily cut down.

Coniferous forests of the taiga

In the northern hemisphere of the planet, coniferous forests lie in the taiga zone. Here the main forest-forming species are as follows:

In Europe, there are pure pine and spruce-pine forests.

pine forests

AT Western Siberia a wide variety of coniferous forests: cedar-pine, spruce-larch, larch-cedar-pine, spruce-fir. Larch forests grow on the territory of Eastern Siberia. In coniferous forests, birch, aspen or rhododendron can be used as undergrowth.

In Canada, black spruce and white spruce, balsam fir and American larches are found in forests.

White spruce

There is also Canadian hemlock and lodgepole pine.

Aspen and birch are found in impurities.

Coniferous forests of tropical latitudes

Coniferous forests are found at some points in the tropics. Caribbean, western and tropical pine grows on the islands of the Caribbean.

In South Asia and on the islands, Sumatran and island pines are found.

Coniferous plants such as Fitzroy cypress and Brazilian araucaria are represented in South American forests.

In the tropical zone of Australia, coniferous forests are formed by podocarps.

Importance of coniferous forests

There are quite a lot of coniferous forests on the planet. As trees were cut down, people began to create artificial coniferous forests in the place where they grew. broad-leaved species. In these forests, a special plant and animal world. The coniferous trees themselves are of particular value. People cut them down for construction, furniture making and other purposes. However, in order to have something to cut, you first need to plant and grow, and then use softwood.

Between the tundra in the north and deciduous forest vast and picturesque coniferous forests stretch in the south. One type of such forest is called northern boreal, it is located between 50 ° and 60 ° north latitude. Another type is coniferous forest temperate zone , grows at lower latitudes North America, Europe and Asia, on the high elevations of the mountains.

Coniferous forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere, although some of them can be found in the southern.

This largest terrestrial biotope in the world consists mainly of coniferous trees- trees on which needles grow instead of leaves, instead of flowers - cones, and seeds develop in cones. Conifers tend to be evergreen, meaning their needles stay on the branches all year round. An exception can be considered only the genus of larches, the needles of which turn yellow and crumble at the end of each summer. Such adaptations help plants survive in very cold or dry areas. Some of the most common species are spruces, pines, and firs.

Precipitation in coniferous forests is from 300 to 900 mm per year, and in some forests of the temperate zone - up to 2000 m. The amount of precipitation depends on the location of the forest. In the northern boreal forests, winters are long, cold and dry, and summers are short, moderately warm, with an abundance of moisture. At lower latitudes, precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year.

The air temperature in the areas where pine and spruce forests grow is from -40° C to 20° C, the average summer temperature is 10° C.

Coniferous forests - an evergreen kingdom

Conifers grow where summers are short and cool and winters are long and harsh, with heavy snowfall that can last up to 6 months. The needle-shaped leaves have a waxy outer coating that prevents water loss in frosty weather. The branches, on the other hand, are soft and flexible and usually point downwards, so that the snow rolls off them without difficulty. Larches have been found in some of the coldest regions on our planet.

Evergreen forests consist mainly of species such as spruce, fir, pine and larch. The leaves of these trees are small and needle-like or scale-like, and most of them remain green all year round (evergreen). All conifers are able to live in cold and acidic soil.

All coniferous forests in the world are classified according to the following types:

• Eurasian coniferous forest with the dominant Siberian pine, Siberian fir, Siberian and Daurian fir in the east ( Landsvennitsa Gmelin) larches. Scotch pine and Scotch spruce are important forest-forming species in Western Europe.
• FROMNorth American coniferous forest dominated by white spruce, black spruce and balsam fir.
• tropicalth and subtropicalth coniferous forest with an abundance of cypresses, cedars and sequoias.

Northern coniferous forests, such as the coniferous forest in Siberia, are called taiga or boreal forests. They cover vast areas of North America from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean and are located throughout Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and throughout Asia through Siberia and Mongolia to northern China and northern Japan.

The length of the growing season in boreal forests is 130 days.

Cypresses, cedars and sequoias grow strictly vertically. The highest of them can reach 110 m in height. Trees are usually pyramidal. The short side branches grow quite close together, but they are so flexible that the snow just slides off.

(predominantly pine and larch):

(spruce and fir predominate):

Life in the coniferous forest

The biome is noticeably higher compared to the tundra: there are 120-150 species of nesting birds alone, and up to 40-50 species of mammals. At the same time, the biodiversity of coniferous forests is significantly inferior in its richness to tropical regions.

Even evergreen trees eventually shed their leaves and grow new ones. The needles fall on the forest floor and form a thick springy carpet of pine needles. Light, usually acidic soils of coniferous forests are called podzols and have a compacted layer of humus, which contains many fungi. filamentous mushrooms help to decompose needles that have fallen to the ground. These organisms provide nutrients from the fallen needles back to the roots of the trees. But since the needles decompose very slowly, the soils under such trees are low in minerals and organic matter, and the number of invertebrates such as earthworms there are very few of them.

Mosquitoes, flies and other insects are common inhabitants of the coniferous forest, but due to low temperatures there are few cold-blooded vertebrates such as snakes and frogs. Coniferous forest birds include woodpeckers, crossbills, kinglets, hazel grouses, waxwings, black grouse, hawks and owls. Mammals include shrews, voles, squirrels, martens, elks, deer, lynxes and wolves.

Too little light penetrates through the thick canopy of coniferous trees. Because of the constant darkness in lower tier only ferns grow and very little herbaceous plants. Mosses and lichens, on the contrary, are found everywhere on forest soil, trunks and branches of trees. There are very few flowering plants.

Currently, extensive logging in boreal forests may soon lead to their extinction.

Importance of coniferous forests

Coniferous forests are the world's main source of commercial timber. Their use has many advantages:

• Except in very cold areas, they grow rapidly and can be cut down every 40-50 years.
• Many conifers coexist well.
• Frozen soil makes it easier to access wood for machinery and transport in winter.
• Softwood has many different uses - paper, construction and furniture, etc.
• Softwood can be easily harvested as a crop using modern machinery.

acid rain

Over the past 50 years, coniferous forests around the world have been suffering from acid rain. The main reasons for which are:

• Air emissions sulfur dioxide power plants, industrial plants
• Increased emissions from power plants as well as cars nitrogen oxides

These contaminants are carried air masses to areas of Western Europe. Fifty million hectares of woodlands in 25 European countries suffers from acid rain. So, for example, coniferous mountain forests in Bavaria are dying. Cases of defeat of coniferous, and also deciduous massifs of Karelia, Siberia are noted.

The most common conifers:

• Norway spruce
• White spruce
• Spruce black
• Canadian hemlock
• Lebanese cedar
  
• European larch
  
• Common juniper (veres)
  
• Fir
• podocarp
• western pine
• Caribbean pine
• Scotch pine
• pine tree
• Fitzroy cypress

Conifers are mostly evergreens, woody or shrubby, with needle-like leaves. The needles are needle-shaped, scaly or linear leaves. Conifers belong to the class of gymnosperms. In total, coniferous plants number about 600 species. It is difficult to list the names of all coniferous trees, but it is possible to provide a list of coniferous trees that are the most famous and widespread in our strip.

Pine is an evergreen coniferous tree that grows everywhere throughout Russia, is distinguished by long needles and unpretentiousness to natural conditions. Sunny pine groves are a real natural sanatorium.

- a coniferous ornamental tree from the cypress family, many varieties of arborvitae are widely cultivated for landscaping parks and private farms.

- in wild nature grows in the tropical zone, also successfully bred as an ornamental tree or shrub, the foliage differs from all previous conifers, the leaves on upward shoots are arranged spirally, on horizontal shoots - linear. Yew is very poisonous, only pitted berries are edible.

- coniferous shrub of the cypress family, used for ornamental gardening.

- a mighty tree of the North Ocean coast of America of the cypress family. Trees - centenarians from this genus live for several thousand years.

- a beautiful coniferous tree that grows wild in the mountains of China.

The above list of conifers describes plants, each of which has many species - these are just the most common conifers.

In addition to those listed, conifers include: cypress, hemlock, ginkgo, araucaria, libocedrus, pseudo-hemlock, cunningamia, cryptomeria, sciadopitis, sequoiadendron and many others.

Hello, dear readers of the Sprint-Answer website. In this article you can find out the answers to the questions of the Supergame in the program "Field of Miracles" for October 27, 2017. The winner of the game agreed to the Supergame, so it took place. Answers to all questions of the Supergame can be found on our website in the same section. By the way, the winner won the Supergame, she guessed the main word.

Here are the questions in the Super Game "Fields of Wonders" 27.10.2017

Word horizontal (11 letters). What was the coniferous forest called in the European part of Russia and the Urals?

Word left vertical (5 letters). What was the name of the area from under the forest, bushes, cleared for arable land?

Word on the right vertically (6 letters). An old Russian proverb says: "There is space in the steppe, in the forest ..."?

Answers to the questions of the Supergame "Fields of Wonders" 27.10.2017

RED FOREST, -i, cf. Coniferous forest. All species of resinous trees, such as: pine, spruce, fir, etc., are called red forest, or red forest. S. Aksakov, Notes of a rifle hunter. I do not want to say that the red forest is worse, but the aspen forest is also beautiful. (Soloukhin, The Third Hunt.)

Fight- the same as chischoba; a place where the forest is cut down, uprooted and burned for sowing; arable land cleared from under the forest.

In the steppe space, in the forest land.

1. beauty forest
2. Fight
3. land